


We come together (state of the art)

by kjstark, multindproud



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Bobby Friendly, Canonical Character Death, Everyone Is Alive, Idiots in Love, Light Angst, M/M, Multi, Oblivious, Polyamorous Character, Polyamory, Pre-Canon, oblivious idiots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:13:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27240994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kjstark/pseuds/kjstark, https://archiveofourown.org/users/multindproud/pseuds/multindproud
Summary: “Hey! What was that for?!" Alex asked, a bit annoyed.His only answer was Bobby pointing at the boy that had just entered the garage.Right...they were in the middle of auditions for a bass player.~~How two became three and the altering realization that not every fairytale ends with a happily ever after.
Relationships: Alex/Luke Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex/Luke Patterson/Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex/Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Luke Patterson/Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms)
Comments: 85
Kudos: 353





	1. You gotta get up and learn to deal

**Author's Note:**

> We sat down to toss headcanons around and said "hey, do you want to build a snowman?". The snowman being this. 
> 
> NOTES:  
> \- We have written plenty of the story ahead so fear not, this won't be abandoned at all.  
> - **Not Beta Read** and English isn't our first language so, bear with us.

They were okay, they were totally okay. No awkwardness at all and he was glad for it, because that's what Alex wanted...right? For it not to damage anything between him and Luke, for it not to fuck up the band.

So why on earth did it make him so anxious to see Luke just going about his day, working full-on on the band? (And that was great! Awesome, even!) 

Yet it bothered him. Just slightly. 

Just slightly enough to make him be so far in his head that he didn’t realize that Bobby was calling out to him until a paper ball hit him in the head. 

“Hey! What was that for?!" Alex asked, a bit annoyed. 

His only answer was Bobby pointing at the boy that had just entered the garage. 

Right...they were in the middle of auditions for a bass player.

“Uhm, hi- hello,” Alex said, gathering himself. Luke had just left to get them a few bottles of water. 

“Hey, my name’s Reginald. Reginald Bernstein —not related to Leonard Berstein, though— but my friend’s call me Reggie. Or they did, back in Cape May,” the guy said with a chuckle. 

Alex and Bobby exchanged a look. “So...you’re from Jersey?” Alex asked, like that’s even relevant and the guy blinked at him, his smile faltering a little. 

“Yeah, I— uhm, I sit behind you, in math,” he said, awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. “I introduced myself a couple of weeks ago…” he explained and Alex completed the puzzle.

“Oh, yeah, yeah, you were the one who wouldn’t shut up,” Alex blurted without thinking but the guy just nodded with a smile.

“Yes, that was me,” he said. “Anyways, I talked to your leader—”

“He’s not our leader,” both he and Bobby said in unison. 

The guy moved his eyes around the room, like he’s not quite buying it but then he said: “Well, I told him I shred on the bass.” 

Alex thought he had the fashion sense of a bassist alright, but there was something about the pale yet slightly-pink cheeks and the unassuming smile on the guy’s face that screamed anything but a rockstar. 

Alex’s about to speak when the source of his latest unrestful nights takes presence again. 

“Oh, I’m right on time— hey, Reggie,” Luke said, coming into the garage and patting the guy on his shoulder. “Thanks for coming,” Luke added, and he’s all smiley dimples and Alex’s really not bothered by that. 

And that unsettled him. 

“Did you get the water?” Bobby asked Luke. He was getting some skin treatment for his acne and now he’s always thirsty. 

Luke stopped smiling at the new kid in town and turned to throw them the water bottles. 

Alex wasn’t prepared to catch it, so it fell with a thud and knocked their “Auditions” sign over. 

He turned to glare at him just a little annoyed and Luke looked down like he was a kicked puppy. He did that a lot lately. 

It’s not supposed to be hard, Alex kept reminding himself. And it really wasn’t, it’s just a little awkward.

So Alex just sighed and stood up to grab the bottle from the floor, arranged the sign, and then sat back down again. Luke just walked over to the other side of the room, Bobby sitting between them, permanently unaware. 

Alex took a strand of hair off his forehead and looked at the new guy. “Alright, Reginald,” he called for him, making an amused face. “Show us what you got.” 

Okay...Reggie was  _ awesome _ . Luke couldn't believe it; when Reggie told him he could play bass, Luke told him about the audition because he could see how excited the blue-eyed boy was but now he was so glad that Reggie told him.

"You're in!" Luke said without even waiting for the others to say anything. "You are  _ awesome _ , dude," he exclaimed, almost vibrating in his spot behind the table. 

Bobby and Alex were looking at him in exasperation but he ignored them, choosing to just stare at Reggie while said boy just smiled the sweetest and cutest smile ever— wait...where did that come from?

He was glad that Alex got his attention back on track before he went down that train of thought and he sighed at the blond's expression. 

"Wait for us here, Reggie. This will only take a sec," Alex smiled at him reassuringly, before going out to the back of the garage and out of ear-range with the other two. 

"Okay, why are you two acting like this?" Luke asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Maybe because you didn't ask us before accepting him into the band?" Alex asked rhetorically as if it were obvious. 

"Dude, we are part of this, too, even if we do agree that he is the best of the bunch we've seen today," said Bobby, calmer than Alex. 

Luke sighed and nodded, he was just excited, he couldn't help it. 

"I'm sorry, I know I did wrong but we need him," he said, shrugging. "And I know he blew both of your minds. Alex, you were even staring with your mouth open!" Luke chuckled at the indignant noise that came out of the blond. 

"Yeah, yeah, he is great, but really, this needs to stop," Alex told him, all seriousness. "It's already bad enough that Reginald thinks you are our leader," he added, his tone unamused. 

Bobby chuckled at that and shaking his head in fond exasperation grabbed both of their wrists to tug them back in. 

"Come on, we need to give our new bassist the good official news," Bobby said, making his way back inside with the other two.

After that, everything seemed to fall into place with the four of them. It was like Reggie was meant to be with them from the start. He clicked with all three of them like he was literally what could keep them together if things ever hit a rough patch. 

Everything changed for the better when after months of knowing him, Alex came out to him. It was one of the days that both of them were alone, practicing. Luke was grounded because of a prank he had pulled on their history teacher and was suspended for three days and Bobby was on an emergency trip with his parents. 

"Hey, Regs. Can I ask you something?" he asked, fidgeting with his drumsticks.

Alex was nervous. He hadn't told anyone about it, besides Luke but he doesn't count. He couldn't tell Bobby because, well, he was kinda narrow-minded but Reggie…Reggie has shown to be like this puppy that's a bit dumb yet loyal and smart at the same time and it made Alex feel like he could be trusted.

Reggie looked up from his bass when he heard the tone Alex was using and nodded. 

"Yeah, sure," he said with a small smile. "Is everything okay?"

Alex gulped and nodded. "Yeah, yeah just...curiosity," he chuckled nervously. "What…would you say if— if I told you I...like guys?" he asked, the last bit more of a whisper than anything else. 

"Sorry, I didn't catch the last part," said Reggie, going to sit closer to him. 

"I said I'm  _ gay _ , Reggie," Alex replied, a bit exasperated with himself.

Reggie stared at him for a moment before smiling.

"Cool!" Reggie said, wrapping his arm around the blond boy. "I have an uncle that's gay and he's awesome! You are awesome, Alex," Reggie didn't stop smiling while hugging him from his side.

* * *

_ "I don't think this is working."  _

Alex remembered vividly how quiet his voice had sounded. He also remembered how Luke's eyes traveled for a complete second like he didn't know what Alex meant before he knew too well. 

Luke hadn't pleaded, he hadn't even asked why, even though Alex had prepared thoroughly his list of reasons. But Luke had acted like he didn't care that much. 

He only forgot to tell his face that. 

Alex thought of that dreadful afternoon when he stared at the calendar and noticed: it's been three months already. 

But when Alex saw Luke at school just before their new semester started, Reggie clinging to his side like he's done lately because they live close to each other, Alex realized he wasn't hurting. 

He actually smiled at them. 

Later on, in their trigonometry class, Luke handed him back his pink sweater. "I know I should've given it to you ages ago, but— well," he trailed and Alex figured the rest of his sentence. 

Luke had held onto him in a language that Alex hadn't learned how to speak. 

"You don't have to give it back if you wanna use it. I can always just get a new pink hoodie," Alex assured him with a carefree shrug. 

"No, no. It's yours. I think— I think it's right...Right?" Luke replied, doubtful. 

Alex moved his eyebrows like he's at a loss of ideas, too. 

He never had an ex-boyfriend before. 

"Yeah, yeah," Luke said, deciding for them and then he shoved the sweater into Alex's hands. 

"Oh, I didn't know we could borrow each other's clothes," Reggie spoke in a whisper all of the sudden, coming in to sit behind them. "If that's the case, then, Luke, can you lend me your dark blue plaid for our next gig?" he asked, bending upwards to look at Luke. 

Alex and Luke exchanged a look before they broke down to chuckle. 

"Sure, Reggie," Luke said, after a breathy laugh. 

* * *

Reggie gets under your skin so fast you can barely notice how. A subtle touch packed with the blasting energy of a rapid fireball. 

He was excitement and rush and hyper-verbalism that filled up the quietest of rooms. 

He was bright smiles and dumb jokes and an ADHD-consumed talent at playing bass. 

So when Luke noticed that light dimmed down since a few weeks ago, he knew something was up. 

"Hey, Reg, you okay?" he asked quietly after the practice was over and Bobby was the first to leave and Alex followed not long after. 

He held the blue-eyed boy by his forearm and Reggie looked split between playing it cool or crying on the spot. 

"I'm not having the best time at home," Reggie ended up saying, with a light-hearted chuckle but sad eyes. 

"You wanna talk about it?" Luke offered, rolling his hand up Reggie's arm, soothing. 

Reggie's eyes were glued to the floor, like he was considering it. 

Luke licked his lips. "Or we can do something else. Get your mind off it," he tried instead and Reggie's head moved up. 

He nodded. "Yeah, yeah, that's better," he muttered but he still looked down. 

Then Luke remembered: "Hey, I rented Empire Strikes Back," he said, his eyebrows curving. 

With that, Reggie's entire face lit up, his wide smile coming back. 

And if Luke dreamt of faint freckles and crooked teeth later that night, he figured it would make a great song. 

* * *

Alex banged hard on his drums while they practiced for a gig they have on the weekend and it was so loud Reggie couldn't hear the voices in his head. 

When inevitably they stopped, all three of them turned to Alex. 

He was breathing heavily and his eyes flew to Luke fast, wide and shiny. Then he bolted like a goddamned gazelle. 

Luke ran after him after a split minute, leaving his guitar on the couch. And Reggie moved quickly on his feet to do the same, but Bobby pressed his hand on his elbow, stopping him. 

"Hold there, Reg," he said, looking worried. 

Reggie frowned. "But Alex…"

"Luke's got him, okay? Trust me, those two understand each other in ways you never will," Bobby explained in good nature. 

But Reggie hated every bit of how that sounded. 

"I'mma head out to buy some snacks, do you want anything?" Bobby asked him, putting his guitar aside.

"Oreos, please?" Reggie replied with a small smile. "Do we have peanut butter here? We should totally get some," he added, giving Bobby some money. 

With that Bobby left and Reggie was left there, anxiously waiting for the other two to come back. 

Not even five minutes later, Reggie was following the path Alex and Luke took, and he found them right away but not exactly how he had expected or even foreseen.

Luke was holding Alex's face between his hands, while the blond was stressed, crying, and babbling.

Gulping, Reggie got closer so he was able to hear better. 

"Hey, it's okay. Calm down, babe," mumbled Luke, stroking Alex's wet cheeks gently. "They won't do anything to you. I can only imagine how bad it is for you to be like this but you need to calm down." 

"I can't calm down, Luke! They can't even look at me in the eyes. I feel like a ghost in my own house!" Alex replied, his voice a few octaves higher because of the anxiety he was feeling. "What if they knew when we were together? What if that's why mom didn't like it when we went to my room to study?" 

Reggie was left speechless by that sentence. So… Luke and Alex used to date. Why did that make him feel weird? Don't get him wrong, he doesn't have anything against gay people, to him they were awesome, but knowing that his friends had that kind of connection made him feel odd. 

Like Bobby's sentence: it was something beyond Reggie's understanding. 

It felt like he didn't belong. Like he was being left out. 

So, at that moment, he decided to leave. He went back to the garage and took his stuff. Wrote a note saying that he had to leave early and took off on his bike. 

Reggie felt like his chest was in pain and he wanted to scream and cry but the question was why?

To be honest, he wasn't even sure if he wanted to know the answer. 


	2. Don't tell me it's not worth fightin' for

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What Reggie wasn't expecting, or didn't expect, to find here too was a screaming match between Luke and Alex. 
> 
> Reggie gulped and got inside the garage and tried to act like he always did when arguments arose. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NO BIG WARNINGS FOR THIS ONE

So he felt like proper shit. Not only had he eavesdropped on a private moment he was by no means meant to witness but now he couldn't stop thinking about it. 

Alex and Luke dated. 

Bigger than that, they had _loved_ each other.

And not like friends do, like Reggie himself was quickly realizing it's how he felt about them after just six months since he joined Sunset Curve. No, they loved each other on a higher level. 

One Reggie would never understand. 

The pick hit him in the eyebrow, bringing him back to reality real quick. 

"Hey!" Reggie complained, turning to Luke who was smiling. 

"Be thankful it was his pick, because I was about to throw you my damn stick," Alex joked from behind them, waving his drums stick with his fingers. "What the hell happened to you?"

"You looked like you were on a seance," Luke added, laughing. 

Reggie swallowed. Today was Thursday which meant Bobby had his yoga session and they would rehearse just the three of them. And that was starting to become a problem for Reggie's unrestful mind. 

"I'm just—" Reggie's eyes shifted on the carpet, not knowing what to say. 

"Is it your parents again?" Alex asked, concerned. 

Reggie turned to him with a frown. 

"Luke mentioned som—" Luke banged on Alex's plates with his hand to cut him off, his eyes glaring. "Uh…" 

Reggie sighed and took off his bass, with an eye-roll. 

He didn't care that Luke told Alex about his parents impending divorce. It was the knowledge that Luke and Alex shared everything beyond _his_ knowledge. 

There it was again, that weird twisting in his stomach. 

"I'm sorry, Reg. But I mean, it's Alex," Luke said, pointing with both hands at their drummer. "He was just as worried about you as I was," he added. 

Reggie moved to sit on the couch and eyed them. Alex was nodding behind Luke, his light blue eyes deep with worry. 

"Look, you can talk to us about anything, remember? We're here for you," Alex assured him with that soft voice he used sometimes. 

That voice that wrapped around you and soothed. 

Luke might be the leader but if anyone was the protector, it was Alex. 

"I know," Reggie muttered, looking at his fingers. 

"Then what's up?" Luke tried, sitting on the arm of the couch and giving him a little bump on his shoulder.

All Reggie kept thinking about was that if Luke was the brawns and Alex the brains, then what was he left with? 

"You guys are gonna be pissed at me," Reggie started, not meeting either of their eyes. 

Alex looked at Luke and got up from the stool. He shoved his hands into his denim's pockets and stood in front of Reggie. "Try us." 

Reggie looked up from the couch at Alex and resisted the urge to actually pout. 

"I know you guys dated," he said, lowering his head back down again. 

There was a brief second of silence before Luke chuckled. 

"You mean you finally realized," Luke said, with a friendly grin. Reggie stared at him blankly. 

"Reg, we weren't exactly trying to keep it from you," Alex said, tilting his head. Then he moved to sit beside him. "Does that make you-- uncomfortable?" Alex asked then, looking at his lap. 

Reggie's head popped up and he shifted his eyes between Alex and Luke sitting at both of his sides. 

"No, no, that's— that's not it. No," he said, quickly. God, no, that was the last thing he wanted them to think. "No, I told you, I think you guys are awesome, I would never— ah," he buried his face in his hands from the embarrassment. 

Luke slid from the arm of the couch, to sit properly, patting Reggie's back. "Chill, bro," he said, calm. 

Reggie got up from the couch, feeling surrounded and outnumbered. "No, no, listen— I saw you! Alright?" he yelled, distressed and sorry. "And I know I shouldn't have done that and I'm so— _so_ , sorry, you guys," he apologized, his eyes glassy. 

'I'm sorry I'm unneeded and disposable,' was actually what lingered in the back of his throat. 

"I assume it was the day I stormed out?" Alex wondered. 

Reggie couldn't think why that was relevant but he nodded. 

"So, you were worried about me, I take?" Alex fit the puzzle. 

Reggie eyed them then, carefully looking at him, like studying him. Not a hint of anger or resentment in their eyes. 

Reggie swallowed and blinked in a positive reply. "Of course," he said, softly. "But I shouldn't have followed you, especially after Bobby said that Luke got it." 

"Yeah, you shouldn't have. But Luke and I shouldn't have private moments like that when we're all friends here," Alex replied. Then he looked at Luke, a glance that was filled with a meaning Reggie wasn't supposed to understand. "We're not dating anymore, and band members don't keep things from each other," he finished with a confident nod. 

Reggie almost felt the life coming back to his cheeks.

"We don't want to make anyone feel left out. Least of all you, Regs," Luke assured with those dimples— and there was that thinking again. 

"I told Luke I think you're the piece that fits the puzzle, you know? Like—" Alex looked to the ceiling like he was thinking how to complete his analogy. "Like the heart of it," he said at last. 

Reggie's chest fluttered. 

He smiled. "I'm still sorry," he said, his arms falling to his sides.

"We know," Luke blinked. 

"So, I guess the clothes sharing was an ex-thing and not a band-thing," Reggie said later, fidgeting with his fingers. 

Alex and Luke laughed. "Yeah, but, it's good you made it a band thing now because Bobby has a beanie I wanna ask him for," Luke said, raising his eyebrows. 

Alex sighed and moved to his drums then. "Well, you guys have zero fashion sense so, I don't want anything from you." 

* * *

Reggie had gone to buy some food for the three of them. It was Winter Break and rehearsal day but Bobby wasn't able to make it because his parents made him go with them to spend time with his family. 

What Reggie wasn't expecting, or didn't expect, to find here too was a screaming match between Luke and Alex. 

Reggie gulped and got inside the garage and tried to act like he always did when arguments arose. 

"Guys, I brought burgers and sodas and chips and those little pies Alex likes and I got them for free because I'm _that_ amazing and—" he was cut off by Alex putting his hand up to shut him up.

"Let me see if I understand correctly," said the blonde drummer, crossing his arms over his chest. "You _asked out_ the daughter of the owner of The Sunrise so she could get _us_ gigs?!" He exclaimed, his voice getting higher and higher. "Are you nuts?!" 

Luke had the audacity of laughing and shrugging like it wasn't a big deal.

"What? She's pretty and it's an amazing opportunity for us!" Luke said with a carefree smile on his face. "What's the big deal?" 

Alex let out a disbelieving chuckle.

"What's the big de- are you even listening to yourself?! That has _wrong_ written all over it, Luke!" Alex said with exasperation. 

Luke looked at him for a moment before chuckling. "Are you jealous?" He asked, a smug smile on his face. "I never thought that after we decided to call it quits you would get _jealous_ , Alex." 

"For fuck's sake, Luke, this isn't about you!" Alex screamed, annoyed beyond belief by how narcissistic the other boy was being. 

"Then what, Alex?!" Luke asked, starting to get annoyed. "Because it pretty much sounds like it," he scoffed. "Just because you haven't gotten over me doesn't mean I haven't either," he said in a snarl. 

They were so into their fight that they didn't notice Reggie grabbing his food, and stepping outside to the cold. He was on automatic, feeling like he was listening to their screams from underwater, his mouth felt weird and clammy. 

He started eating, not noticing the trail of tears that were coming down his cheeks while a million thoughts went through his head. 

What if this was it? The fight between the other two sounded bad enough and he knew from experience how much damage they could make. What if he ended up losing his second family, too? The family _he_ chose for himself and that chose him back. 

He didn't know what he would do if he lost them for good, Alex and Luke were…his everything, his safe place and he would go crazy if that disappeared for him.

He gulped down on the knot in his throat and the food he still had in his mouth tasted like ash. He ran his shaky hand through his hair, not even feeling the cold. 

A pathetic sob escaped his mouth and he tensed, whenever his parents saw him crying when they fought, it would only make it worse and he didn't want to make things worse between Alex and Luke. It would destroy him, so he tried to stop crying and kept eating but it was impossible, the sobs only getting louder. 

"Reggie?" He heard Alex's worried voice from above him. "Oh, Reggie…" Alex mumbled, kneeling beside him and hugging him. 

"Please, please, stop fighting," Reggie whispered brokenly, clinging to him as much as his numb hands allowed him. "Please, please, don't leave me, not like they did."

At that moment, he felt another pair of arms wrap around his waist, pulling him against another warm body. 

"I'm sorry, Regs," whispered Luke against his ear. "We're sorry. We didn't mean to make you cry." 

Reggie didn't say anything, just clung to them, and felt safe between those pairs of arms. 

" _Look into my eyes...You will see...What you mean to me…"_ Luke started to sing softly, so only Reggie and Alex could hear him.

It was a song he couldn't help but sing with the other two in his mind— but that was a discussion for another day, right now what mattered was helping Reggie calm down, and singing to him always helped. 

Alex caught on fast and joined him while hugging Reggie tighter.

_"Search your heart...Search your soul...And when you find me there. You'll search no more,"_ sang Alex.

Both of them could feel Reggie start to relax between them and that knowledge alone brought ease to their chests. They smiled at each other and kept singing but this time together, deciding to tweak a bit with the lyrics to fit what they wanted to convey with them.

_"Don't tell me it's not worth tryin' for. You can't tell me it's not worth dyin' for. You know it's true...Everything_ **_we_ ** _do..._ **_We_ ** _do it for you."_

They both heard Reggie's shaky gasp but didn't say anything, they just kept singing to the boy that slowly had become the heart they were missing, the one that would make them come back to this moment, just the three of them sharing the same air, where not even the biting cold from the winter could touch them because the boy in their arms —this flaming, warm heart— was finally with them.


	3. I'm only seventeen, I don't know anything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex realizes that Reggie brings balance to him and Luke. Luke realizes he's a liar. And Reggie realizes Bobby knows more than he lets on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING for this one: There's implied **sexual arousal** in the privacy of one's lonely bedroom. But we left things to your very acute imaginations. As it should be. Teenage is a rocky era in one's life, innit?

Alex realized, amusedly, that he couldn't remember now how things were before they had Reggie. Every single argument he has with Luke that he tries to swerve for Reggie's sake seems like would drive him up the wall if it wasn't for the fact that he was keeping his cool thanks to Reggie's presence and the silent promise he and Luke made of not giving him more shit than his parents already gave him. 

It was a balance he could've never dreamed of. 

And everything was going peachy until his eyes started to linger on Reggie for longer than usual. On how his hair looked this day, the new plaid he got last week, how his ripped pants showed just enough skin to make Alex's mind travel and swallow thoughts away. 

Alex thought he had it under control until Luke closed the door of the studio on him after Reggie and Bobby got take-out duties and turned with an open mouth: "You're into Reggie."

It wasn't a question, it was a statement. 

But coming from Luke, standing with his arms closed and his feet parted, it might've as well been a freaking  _ dare _ . 

"What?" Alex breathed, a fragile nonchalant mask breaking through him like crystal. 

And Luke didn't look upset or angry; he seemed amused. Caught up in the idea that Alex was into their mutual friend. 

Which, by all means, Alex wasn't. At all. 

Reggie just had improved his fashion sense lately. Yes, that's what it was. It was purely an aesthetical thing. 

It wasn't Reggie worrying after Luke's eating habits 'cause Luke kept having fights with his mom and skipping dinners. Or him asking about Alex's sister dance competition. Or going with Bobby to that elderly shelter their rhythm guitarist went to every other Sunday. 

It wasn't Reggie and his enormous heart worrying and caring about everyone around him when his own parents can't even do that for him. 

It wasn't that. 

"Alex, I'm fine with it," Luke still assured him with a hand on Alex's shoulder. "I mean, I get it. Reggie's...kinda cute," he added, acting like he gave it a thought. 

But Alex rolled his eyes and gave him a playful shove. "I've had my fill of being into my bandmates in this lifetime,  _ thank you _ ," he said, his chin high up at Luke's face. 

* * *

The pebble hit Luke’s window so hard he almost felt like it broke the glass a little. He stood up from his desk with a sigh and swung it open. 

“What the hell are you doing?” Luke said in a loud whisper to Reggie, a few feet below him. 

“The lunar eclipse is in like two hours!” Reggie replied in the same tone. He knew Luke was grounded for the third time in the past two weeks. 

“I can’t go. I have homework. I can’t keep failing in my classes or my folks are seriously gonna keep me locked ‘til I’m 21, man,” Luke said. 

Reggie’s shoulders went down as he moved his bike to rest against the wall of Luke’s house. “Alright, I’m going in,” he said, getting on the saddle of his bike to try and reach Luke’s window. “Help me,” he asked when he couldn’t prop himself up. 

Luke rolled his eyes and grabbed Reggie by his forearms and pulled harder than Reggie was hoping, sending them both off balance and into the carpeted floor of Luke’s room. 

Reggie falling on top of him. 

“Oh, hi,” he said, cheerfully.

“What the hell are you doing, Regs?” Luke asked again as Reggie rolled off him. 

“I’ll help you with your homework and then we’ll be done just in time for the eclipse,” Reggie explained excitedly, getting up from the floor. 

“Mhm, and since when do you know anything about algebra?” Luke asked with a smile, still sitting on the floor. 

Reggie smiled widely. “Since,” he trailed off as he took a piece of paper out of his back pocket, “I have Alex’s notes.” 

Luke nodded. “Ok, that makes sense.”

Reggie took off his jacket and put it on Luke’s chair and turned to him with a smile. “Come on, let’s get workin’.” 

Luke eyed him carefully and then shook his head, sitting again. “Why is this so important to you? It’s just phases of the moon,” Luke said, sitting with a thud. 

Reggie raised a finger. “Mmm, excuse you, it’s not phases of the moon, it's an astronomical event. And lunar eclipses, in particular, happen less than six times a year, mostly just twice— and I already missed the first one this year,” he explained. 

“That still doesn’t explain what’s so special about them…” Luke muttered and when Reggie fell silent and looked down, Luke almost regretted ever saying anything.

“I used to watch them with my dad by the beach in Jersey all the time,” Reggie said, softly, looking at his fidgeting fingers. “But, you know— he has his mind somewhere else now,” he added.

Luke looked at him and let out a long breath. “Alright,” he said, tapping Reggie’s shoulder as he sat in front of his desk again. "Let's get this over with so we can go watch the moon disappear." 

Reggie smiled dearly at him and dragged Luke's beanbag to sit next to him. "Oh, and, technically she doesn't disappear, she just stops being illuminated by the sun because the Earth is in the middle so we can't see it for two hours," he explained with ease. 

Reggie was smart only with the things that mattered to him.

They finished sooner than Luke would’ve been able to if left on his own and soon enough he was riding on the back of Reggie’s bike to a spot he set up in Los Padres, near a cliffside. 

The ocean was wide and deep dark, only dimly-lit by the moonlight. Luke closed his eyes and listened to the quiet sounds of nature, the waves crashing far, far from them. 

“It’s dope, isn’t it?” Reggie asked at his back. Then he unwrapped his plaid shirt from his waist and laid it on the grass before he laid on top of it.

Luke took off his hoodie and did the same, lying next to Reggie. 

The sky was starry just enough but the moon was big and white and Luke was actually excited to see this whole thing unravel. 

“How long till it starts?” Luke asked. 

Reggie pressed on his digital watch to see the time. “Eighty minutes,” he replied. Then he threw his arm under his head and wiggled his way into comfort, his smile untouched on his face. 

Luke shot him a glance, amused. Reggie was like a kid in a park. 

“Thanks for this, by the way,” Reggie said, leaning to Luke’s shoulder. “I asked Alex but he had a Church thing.” 

“Yeah, no prob,” Luke assured him. “This is really nice. So, maybe we can make it a band thing,” he added.

“That’d be great!” Reggie agreed, turning his head fast. 

Luke chuckled and nodded. “Okay, so we’ll do this from now on, then,” he said, turning his head just a little, suddenly realizing he was lying far too close to Reggie. 

They’d been watching the stars silently when Reggie goes, so quietly it doesn’t even sound like him: “Luke, can I ask you something?” 

“Man, I don't know shit about space,” Luke joked as he stared at the deep, dark blue sky but Reggie let out a light laugh next to him. 

“No, I know that. It’s not about that,” Reggie said, still looking over at him from time to time. “No, it’s— it’s about you and Alex,” he said with an unsure tone. 

Luke’s smile faltered a little and he looked at Reggie from the corner of his eye. “Me and Alex or— you know,  _ me and Alex _ ?” he asked with a different tone.

Reggie let out a nervous chuckle but he still said: “Yeah, I guess  _ you and Alex _ ,” in the same tone Luke had used. 

Luke lowered his chin. 

“I just— you don’t have to answer anything, obviously. But I’ve just been thinking about it lately and—”

“You’ve been thinking about me and Alex?” Luke interrupted with a frown. 

Reggie tilted his head on the grass. “Well, when you put it like that, it sounds weird…”

“It is weird, Reg,” Luke said, moving his eyes to the sides a little. 

Reggie turned around, his body lying sideways, to face Luke. “No, I mean, I’ve been thinking about  _ what could’ve happened _ ,” he pressed and their eyes met. Luke closed his mouth in a sorry line. “It’s just— sometimes I see you guys and I think you’re perfect for each other,” he added, dropping a note by the end. 

Luke quirks a resigned eyebrow. “Please, you’ve seen us fight, Reggie…”

“Yeah, I’ve also seen my folks fight and they’re still together,” Reggie replied back. 

“Well, Alex and I aren’t married,” Luke said with a shrug. He looked up at Reggie with a sympathetic smile but Reggie looked puzzled about something. 

“I just— I’ve never been in love, you know? So I don’t know what it’s like to fall out of love with someone,” Reggie said and it clicked in Luke’s head. He was trying to understand what his parents were going through by asking Luke about what Reggie assumed he and Alex went through. 

What Reggie didn’t know was that Luke wasn’t even sure he had fallen out of love with Alex in the first place.

Still, he said: “Well, it can hurt. After Alex called it off, I felt weird and confused. He’s the only constant thing in my life that’s not, you know, my parents or music. We promised we’d stay friends but it was odd. It felt like half-measures now,” Luke shared. 

“What do you mean?” 

Luke stared at the stars. “Because we opened up the door for all these other  _ amazing  _ things and now we couldn’t do them anymore. And I missed them, every time,” he said. 

Reggie laid down on his back again and whispered. “Do you still miss them?” 

Luke can still feel Alex’s fingertips in the back of his neck if he closes his eyes and focuses enough.

But out loud, he denied. “Not anymore.” 

Then he smiled at Reggie and that much was honest. 

“I’m sorry if it made you uncomfortable that I brought it up,” Reggie apologized. 

“It’s fine,” Luke said, hitting Reggie in the ribs just slightly with his elbow. 

“You don’t like anyone now, though?” Reggie asked, curious eyebrow arching. 

Luke held his gaze for a long second and felt the heat coming off Reggie’s hand, lying inches away from his on the grass. 

“Nah,” Luke shook his head and tried not to swallow the knot in his throat at least until Reggie turned away to look at the sky again. 

But he knew he was knees-deep into shit when he went back inside his room later that night and he found that Reggie had forgotten his leather jacket on Luke’s chair. 

With careful fingers, he took it in his hands and he drove the piece of clothing to his face and inhaled. It smelled of leather and  Tommy Hilfiger and  _ Reggie _ and Luke actually felt his throat close and his lips go dry. 

He dropped the jacket like it was on fire and ran a hand through his face. He went to the bathroom, did his little routine before going to bed, and when he got out of his clothes and was fresh clean, the thing was still there on his chair, like a taunt for Luke's worst intentions.

He bit his lower lip and took it again, sliding it onto his naked torso. 

The thing didn't even fit right. Reggie was taller than him but Luke was broader. He must've looked stuffed and weird. 

But under the coat of Reggie's warmth and smell, Luke felt intoxicated. Enthralled.

He let his mind wander around the forbidden corners and felt his knees waver at the thoughts and suddenly it got really hot in the dark loneliness of his bedroom. 

Luke shuddered under Reggie's jacket and got out of it, throwing it on top of his bed and running to the window to open it for some head-clearing, needed air 

Soon he realized it wasn't the weather that was hot, it was  _ him _ . And he mentally kicked himself for it, flashed a few images to gather himself but all his mind seemed interested to keep going back to was either slim fingers in the back of his neck that he knew too well or black leather warmth around him that he wanted to know. 

Being only in his briefs did  _ not _ help, either. 

Or, worse yet, it helped a little  _ too _ much. 

He breathed again and closed the window, then dragged his feet back to his bed and sat slowly. 

_ Do you miss it? _

_ Do you like anyone?  _

Luke let out a sigh and looked at himself in the mirror across his room. "You fucking liar," he told himself. 

And he didn't wear Reggie's jacket again but he threw it on top of his chest and imagined it was Reggie instead. 

Then, a few minutes later, he hung it on his closet door before he did something that would make him feel even more guilty. 

* * *

It was weeks after that that all boys managed to get together for band practice. Reggie had gone on an impromptu trip so his parents could "reconnect" again but all it did was give him and his little brother more headaches. His older brother got out of it because he was at his dorm and all Reggie could think about was how lucky he was to be off to college already. 

Reggie was so glad to be back. He missed his friends and if he dreamed of silky blonde hair, blinding smiles, and strong tanned arms that made his mornings quite difficult while on the trip, it was only for him and him alone to know. 

The moment he stepped in the garage, all those dreams came back with a vengeance because right in front of him, was Luke wearing  _ his  _ leather jacket and that sight did  _ things _ to him that he didn't know how to analyze (that and the should-not-be-mentioned dreams).

He needed to talk to someone. He wanted to understand what he was feeling because if he did something about it he could lose everything. 

At that moment Bobby —quiet and soft-spoken Bobby— turned around and noticed him.

"Hey, Regs, how long have you been standing there staring at Luke like that?" Asked with a smug smile, wiggling his eyebrows.

…Stupid and annoying Bobby was more like it. 

"I-I wasn't! I was just— is that my jacket?" asked Reggie, clearing his throat and letting out a strangled laugh.

That made Luke take the jacket off faster than you could say 'jacket' and hand it out to him with a shy smile that had Reggie staring at him like a dumb puppy. 

Bobby shook his head and took Reggie's arm.

"C'mon, bassist, let's grab takeout. It's our turn," he said, dragging Reggie out of the garage and towards his car. 

"You got a car?!" was the last thing Alex and Luke heard before the car sped out to the road. 

Bobby and Reggie went to the only place that sold veggie burgers, even though Bobby always ended up ordering the regular ones. Reggie figured Bobby thought the intention mattered, at least. 

They were on a table waiting for their order, Reggie drumming his fingers against the table, fidgeting, which was driving Bobby crazy.

"Hey, hey, stop," he begged, grabbing Reggie's wrist. "What's bothering you, man? You’re acting like a puppy on crack...more than you usually do." 

"Me? I'm fine, totally fine. You know what? I'm  _ more  _ than fine," Reggie said, letting out a fake laugh. But then he just gave in and let his forehead fall onto the table. "OK, I'm not okay. I need help."

That made Bobby let out a small chuckle. "Go ahead, tell uncle Bobby what's wrong," he said, ruffling Reggie's hair with his hand. 

Reggie frowned at the gesture but still went: "Is it normal to fall for two people?" Reggie asked, not moving from his position. "I lo- _ like  _ them so much that sometimes I can't think of anything else that isn't them," he explained in almost a whiny voice. "Also, they were together before and I'm pretty sure they'll end up together in the end so I have zero chances with them, and  _ fuck _ , I want a chance, Bobby. I really do." 

It was the first time Reggie let himself say those things, because saying them would mean accepting them and he wasn't ready for that. Up until now. 

Bobby stared at him. It was funny how Reggie tried to hide who he was talking about. And he didn't say anything yet because he could sense the other boy wasn't done talking.

Reggie pulled back from the table and looked at him like a helpless puppy.

"Is it even normal to feel like this for two people? Am I weird? Am I normal?" Reggie asked, feeling absolutely defeated.

Bobby ran a hand through his hair and shrugged. "The heart doesn't understand shit about that, it doesn’t know how to count. If it's one or more than one, for the heart it's all the same," he said, sounding like Master Miyagi, which was pretty cool in Reggie's book. 

So Reggie just stared at him for a moment, all the confusion in the world reflected in his eyes. 

"And what's that supposed to mean?" he asked, hoping to really find the answer to his dilemma. 

"That's up to you," replied Bobby, a little smirk adorning his face. 

Reggie just banged his forehead against the table once again, attracting a worried gaze from the old lady on the other table. 


	4. Stray cat is crying so stray cat sings back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> But then he caught a real sight of his friend and all his fear flew out the window. 
> 
> And got replaced with worry. "Hey, what's wrong?" Alex asked, kneeling down to Luke, who looked like a mess. 
> 
> Eyes red-rimmed and his clothes cold and moist, he was sitting hugging his legs, backpack on. 
> 
> Luke shook his head at a loss of speech, his lower lip trembling. 
> 
> Alex swallowed. _Not Luke's parents, too._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, life got in the way a little bit. 
> 
> **WARNINGS** for this one: mention of a homophobic slur, implied or referenced mistreatment from homophobic parents, and slight or briefly mentioned underage drinking.

The Christmas lights twinkled with the upbeat sound of the Christmas carol playing on the record and Alex felt his eyes go full as he stared at them. 

Christmas time had been hard on him since he told his parents. But at least Claire let him have eggnog now. 

"What did you ask Santa for, Alex?" Annie asked him from the floor, playing with her doll. 

Alex sighed. "A new hoodie," he replied almost sleepily to his sister. 

"What did Luke ask for?" she asked again and Alex didn't miss the look his mom shot him from the chair near the window. 

Yeah, they were definitely onto him. 

But his house had become a silent agreement of "don't ask, and I won't say" and Alex thought that there were worse ways to live.

Still, it hurt that his parents didn't seem to love him as much as they did when they thought he was straight. 

"I don't know, Annie. I haven't asked him," Alex replied softly, averting his eyes from his mother's. 

"Tell him to ask for a new guitar— oh, with red flames!" His little sister exclaimed with big eyes and Alex chuckled. 

She did always like Luke. 

Alex kept drinking the eggnog, listening to his father talk about politics over the phone, and his mom talk with Claire about pie recipes, Annie fast asleep on the couch. 

He took another glass and filled it all the way up to take it with him to his room, feeling his tongue loosen and his mind ease. His eyelids fell slowly every time he blinked and he found it funny, for some reason. 

However, he sobered up real fast when he went inside his dark room and he found his window open, the shadow of a body sitting on the floor and some mumbling. 

Alex's breath got caught up his throat as he turned fast to flick the switch. "Jesus Christ, Luke, you scared the living crap out of me!" he yelled. 

But then he caught a real sight of his friend and all his fear flew out the window. 

And got replaced with worry. "Hey, what's wrong?" Alex asked, kneeling down to Luke, who looked like a mess. 

Eyes red-rimmed and his clothes cold and moist, he was sitting hugging his legs, backpack on. 

Luke shook his head at a loss of speech, his lower lip trembling. 

Alex swallowed. _Not Luke's parents, too._

"What happened?" Alex asked, his voice shaky. 

"I had nowhere else to go," Luke replied with a voice so fragile Alex's heart shrank a little. 

He put a hand on Luke's bent knee and took a breath. "Did they—" his throat closed because he couldn't even imagine. 

Alex's worst fears looked exactly like this. 

But Luke shook his head and looked down to his lap. "No, no. I left," confessed Luke. 

Alex swallowed and wet his lips. “Ok...why?” 

Luke took a long breath and dried his cheeks. “It’s not what you’re thinking— it’s the same old fucking thing!” exclaimed Luke, hitting the floor with his foot, angry. 

“Alex, are you alright?” came the voice of Alex’s mom from downstairs and the boys exchanged looks of horror. 

“Mmm, yeah! Mom, I’m all good— just, killing a bug!” Alex lied, getting up to shut the door. 

“I shouldn’t have come here,” said Luke, regretfully. He started moving to get his stuff from around him and got up. Then, Alex noticed the guitar in its case, too. 

He took one step towards Luke and took his hand without hesitation. “Let’s go take a walk and you can tell me everything,” offered the blonde, his eyes boring into Luke’s. 

Luke sniffed and squeezed his hand harder before they moved to the window.

“You go over here, I’ll go through the door—”

“But, your parents…” Luke asked. 

“They don’t give a shit about what I do anymore. Not unless it’s gonna ruin their image,” Alex replied, holding back the bitter taste in his tongue. 

Alex let his mom know he’s going out and she didn’t even bother to ask where he was going, just smiled and kept sipping her red wine. 

He found Luke just around the corner, behind a tree, holding onto his bike and eyes cast down. 

They started walking in silence, in the dead of the chilly night. Their hands hanging awfully close to each other as if wistfully dreaming of that warm, familiar touch. 

Alex smiled despite himself, remembering how he spent all of his age of fifteen wanting to hold Luke’s hand on the street. 

“Where are we going?” Luke asked suddenly, because Alex had been leading the way without a real intention to. 

Alex looked around and knew too well the way. “Just— you’ll see,” he trailed. 

They kept on walking for a few more blocks, the white street lights were their only company. They took a few lefts and then one right and there they were.

Luke’s mouth twisted slightly up and he turned to Alex. “I can’t believe it’s still here,” said Luke as he looked at the old swings where they met in what felt like a lifetime ago. 

Where they promised to be best friends. 

Where Luke stole Alex’s very first kiss with a guy from him before he stole his heart altogether. 

“Well, it’s good that some things just haven’t changed. Unlike everything else,” Alex said, low. 

With a tug on both of their hearts, they walked over to the swings and sat. 

“So, you wanna tell me what happened?” 

Luke threw his head back a little and stared at the sky, his eyes filling up again before he pressed his lips. “I feel like I keep crushing the people I care about with my bare hands without noticing just because of how much I love them,” he said. 

Alex just frowned in reply but Luke just waved a hand and continued:

“I mean, it’s what happened with us, right?” Luke shot, a different kind of pissed. A bottled-up kind. 

“I thought we were here to talk about your mom,” Alex said, confused. 

“I had it, Alex. I had it with the fights and the nagging and just— the lack of support. I don’t need that in my life,” explained Luke, shaking his head.

Alex sighed. “Luke, she just worries about you—”

“She said we’ll never make it,” Luke cut him off, turning with fire and unshed tears in his eyes. “She said ‘we’re not cut out for it’,” he added, making quotes in the air. 

Luke’s mom could be a sweetheart but she had a cutting tongue when angry. 

Alex zipped his mouth close and let Luke let out another breath. 

“She said we won’t make it ‘cause we’re good kids and ‘rockstars are alcoholics or drug addicts or _sissys’_. She said that, Alex,” Luke explained and Alex just closed his eyes at the adjectives. “So, tell me again she worries about me and I just have to put the other cheek or some bullshit.”

Alex raised an open hand. “Ok, look, obviously what she said was wrong, you know that. But how is you running away gonna fix anything?” 

“What’s the difference now or next year, after we graduate? I’m still gonna leave anyway,” Luke replied.

“But this isn’t the way—”

“I had to do it, Alex. I had to stand my ground.”

“Right. Because having a good relationship with your parents is less important than your pride,” Alex replied, sarcastically. 

Luke turned from his seat on the swing, a look of disbelief on his face. “Can you stop being so goddamn judgmental for one second?” 

“I’m not being judgemental, I’m giving a shit!” Alex said, standing from the swing to face his best friend. “And this is your _parents_ , Luke. I don’t know anyone who loves his mom as much as you do.”

Alex stared at him, an open and honest look on his face. But Luke only smiled bitterly at him and said: “Yet that still doesn’t seem enough for her to take me— which is something you can _very_ easily relate to, right, Alex?” 

Luke’s eyes were darker from their usual light shade and there was so much unspoken hurt there that Alex almost felt himself crumbling. 

But he shook his head, ‘cause he knew better. “This isn’t it. You’re just thinking things because you’re upset right now…”

“No, I’m pretty sure I know my own feelings...” Luke muttered, wrinkling his nose.

“Luke—”

“Would it kill you if we talked about it?”

“I don’t know, maybe!” Alex yelled. 

Alex worked hard for months in bottling up his feelings to let all that effort go to waste because Luke is nostalgic right now. 

They fell silent and looked away from each other, the night heavy on both of their chests. 

“I was having a shit night enough as it was for you to bring this up,” Alex said, sitting back on the swing. 

“Why were you having a shit night?” Luke asked, his tone changed a bit.

“Because my parents hate me, Luke. And I mean _really_ hate me. The very image of me,” answered Alex, a little exasperated. “Nothing’s been the same since I told them. Sometimes I just wish I didn’t have to be so goddamn honest,” he said, running a hand through his face.

Luke leaned in as uncomfortably as he could. “No, you don’t. You just wished they accepted you as you are,” he said, with a sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry, man.”

Alex snickered. “Yeah, I’m sorry, too.”

They smiled at their own little misery and then looked both at the sky. 

Luke thought about Reggie for half a second there. Alex thought about what Luke must’ve been thinking about. 

“Some Christmas night, huh?” Luke muttered. 

Alex shook his head, slightly amused. “Oh, you reminded me, Annie asked me about what did you ask for Christmas?” he wondered with raised eyebrows.

Luke let his shoulders fall. “Ha, how about a time machine?” he joked. 

But Alex bit in. “When would you go back to?” he asked, playing along.

Luke’s smile curved up softly in his face as he said: “Here. Ten years ago. When I fell on my ass because I jumped high from this swing and I made this silly, scrawny little boy laugh so hard _he_ fell on his ass and got all his pants dirty with sand.”

“And my socks, too,” Alex added, grimacing. 

Then they both laughed and it echoed all the way to the pavement. 

Luke stared ahead as he went: “I would just go back then and freeze it there. When we were happy and didn’t know shit about shit.” 

“We still don’t know shit about shit,” Alex countered and it made Luke shoot him an unamused glance. “But what about Reggie, though?” Alex said then, quirking an eyebrow. “If we stayed there, we never would have met him.” 

Luke looked from the corner of his eyes because he knew where Alex was going. 

“I saw you wearing his jacket the other day,” said Alex, in an inquiring, invested tone. 

Luke stood up from the swing and started walking. “I don’t wanna talk about it,” he simply replied.

“Seriously?” Alex asked, smiling in disbelief, still sitting on the swing.

Luke turned. “Yep. And since youdon’t wanna talk about _us_ , I think fair is fair.”

Alex pouted, but still nodded with his head. “Ok.”

“Come on, let’s get going. It’s past midnight already,” Luke urged him. 

“Where are you going?” Alex asked, walking over to Luke, this time stuffing his hands in his pockets.

“The garage,” Luke figured with a shrug. “I got some pillows and the couch is wide and comfortable enough, remember?” 

All of them had fallen asleep on the studio’s couch at least twice. 

“Alright, I’ll go with you to see you settle in and then go back home,” Alex said, but when they made it to the garage, Luke grabbed his hand with soft fingertips trailing their way across Alex's palm and then leaned into his space. 

“Please, stay,” Luke asked softly, only staring at Alex’s wristbands. “Just until I fall asleep. I don’t wanna be alone before I drift off tonight,” he added, and Alex? 

Alex would burn down the whole wide world if Luke asked it like that.

That’s why he can’t talk about it, ‘cause it would consume him. 

“Sure,” it’s all Alex says. 

And then lets himself be dragged by Luke to the couch and laid on it, Luke holding onto his chest, his head to Alex’s left pec, right above his heart as Alex sneaks his hands around him, hugging tight. 

“Can you do what you used to do when I had a hard time falling asleep?” Luke asked, muffled against his chest. 

Alex nodded and started humming a Cyndi Lauper song until they both drifted off, clinging sleepily to each other. 


	5. Last Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> But he shifted on his spot and poked Alex's ribs, which made the drummer pop his eyes open and shoot a warning look. 
> 
> And Luke, little daredevil that he was, took that as an invitation instead. So he started tickling him. 
> 
> "God— no, Lu—" Alex struggled to get out between his laughs under Luke's wiggling, poke-y fingers.
> 
> Alex was twisting next to him so Luke thought better and threw himself on top of Alex, trapping him around his legs. 
> 
> But Alex jerked his hips upward when Luke pressed his fingers to his sides and suddenly, funny wasn't exactly what Luke thought this to be. 
> 
> Luke stopped, almost startled, and Alex grabbed his wrists just out of impulse. "Stop," Alex breathed, a disheveled smile on his face. 
> 
> Luke swallowed, serious, and then the whole situation dawned on Alex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING for this one: there's a somewhat graphic scene of **two boys in a full make-out session**.

Luke moved his head slowly, listening carefully to the peaceful heartbeat under his cheek. He smiled widely with his eyes still closed. 

But then he opened them just to make sure he wasn't dreaming and looked up at Alex still soundlessly asleep. His hair fell on his forehead all soft and his eyelashes looked long and pretty. 

All of him looked beautiful. 

"I can feel you staring at me," Alex muttered suddenly, a smirk on his face but his eyes still closed. 

"I'm gazing," Luke replied, his chin to Alex's chest. 

"Oh, is that what they call it now?" mocked Alex and Luke shook his head, amused.

But he shifted on his spot and poked Alex's ribs, which made the drummer pop his eyes open and shoot a warning look. 

And Luke, little daredevil that he was, took that as an invitation instead. 

So he started tickling him. 

"God— no, Lu—" Alex struggled to get out between his laughs under Luke's wiggling, poke-y fingers.

Alex was twisting next to him so Luke thought better and threw himself on top of Alex, trapping him around his legs. 

But Alex jerked his hips upward when Luke pressed his fingers to his sides and suddenly, funny wasn't exactly what Luke thought this to be. 

Luke stopped, almost startled, and Alex grabbed his wrists just out of impulse. "Stop," Alex breathed, a disheveled smile on his face. 

Luke swallowed, serious, and then the whole  _ situation _ dawned on Alex.

Luke made up a bunch of well-rehearsed excuses in his head to start saying but it was worthless. 

Because Alex tugged Luke's wrists just hard enough before he let them go completely to put his hands on each side of Luke's face and kiss him. 

It was a taunt— barely but a brush of Alex's lips on his but it took Luke's breath right out of his lungs and sent him overriding. So he pressed back, tilting his chin to grab Alex's lower lip between his own. 

But Alex pulled back just slightly and stared deeply into Luke's eyes. Alex's light greenish blue shade getting dark around the edges. 

And then Luke saw it, the ever-present hesitation in Alex's unrestful, anxious head. 

"What?" Luke asked in a whisper. 

Alex blinked and then his face changed. He looked determined now, focused, as he did when they played music. 

He looked brave. 

"You were never not enough, Luke," he said, referencing what Luke had told him last night. 

Luke bit his lower lip, taken back a little. "Then what was it?" 

Alex looked down. "I guess— things got so hard between us sometimes that I forgot..." 

"Forgot what?" Luke frowned. 

Alex drove his head back and beamed up at him. "How much I love you," he answered. 

Luke grinned so big he felt his cheeks stuffed and his heart full. But the only way he was good with words were sung ones and he wasn't too keen on the idea of grabbing a guitar right now so he resorted to his other ways of saying 'I love you, too': 

Through actions.

He pushed Alex back down against the couch and pressed his chest against the taller boy's. He rolled his tongue on Alex's lips to part them and sucked in Alex's gasp, vibrating all the way to Luke's chest. 

He hummed into the kiss and Alex gaped, giving in. The blond threw his hands to Luke's waist and  _ pressed _ when Luke sucked on his tongue in retaliation. It granted him a grunt from Luke's gut and Alex smiled into the kiss. 

God, he missed how much of a little shit the drummer could be when he was in a really good mood. 

Luke threw his head back a little and made Alex tilt back in, asking for it— see? Luke knew how to play this game, too. 

And it was so good and so safe and familiar, it was like breathing. He knew every switch to flick and Alex knew right back. It was the perfect kind of security both of them cherished above all else. 

Above the uncertainty of looking at other places. 

A flickering image of Reggie popped in his head and Luke's eyes flew open, stopping him mid-track. 

But Alex had sneaked his careful, softened fingers underneath his shirt, and here's the thing about Alex Harper: he was warm as a flaming little sun. 

Even in the cold of a Christmas morning in their little garage studio, Alex managed to be a beacon of heat in Luke's chilly torso. 

He fell to the crook of Alex's neck and inhaled when Alex drove his hands up and upper until he was rubbing his chest and Luke had to bite on Alex's neckbone to keep from embarrassing himself. 

Luke moved his head then and eyed Alex's perfectly-featured face, flushed and bright-eyed. 

He really was mad about this guy. 

"Luke…" Alex's Adam apple bobbled up and down. 

And Luke can't count with one hand how many times they had been at this point before. At the very gate of it. 

The no-turning-back-from-this point. 

A million panicking thoughts flashed through his head. A bunch of things he didn't even  _ have _ if they were really gonna do this. But all he went back to was Alex's swollen lips and how  _ invested _ in this a really heavy part of him was. 

He shook his head and saved the decision for later; it wasn't even that escalated yet.

And he went in for another kiss to ground himself but Alex was even worse than him and he shuddered beneath Luke and now Luke realized it wasn't just his own body that was into this, it was also Alex's under him. 

He ran his fingers through Alex's hair and pulled just a little when Alex nibbled his lip, letting it go with an undignified, plain  _ dirty _ 'bob' sound. 

It made him dizzy and, just, fucking lost. 

He was caught up in the moment enough to miss the sound of the garage door being opened beside them. 

"Woah!" came a shout. "You two should have put a sock on the handle or something. I really didn't want to see that," said Bobby with a teasing tone, forgetting for a moment who had come with him to the garage. 

That was until a couple of boxes fell to the floor and Reggie was walking out of the place.

Both Alex and Luke laid there paralyzed, not expecting their best friends— not expecting  _ Reggie _ to find them like that. 

Luke was the first to get up from the couch, trying to hide the issue in his pants.

"Reggie, wait!" he yelled, jogging after the bassist.

Reggie stopped, trying to control his breathing. He wanted to be anywhere but there at the moment. Even his home where his parents were currently engaging in WW3 seemed better than  _ here _ . 

"What, Luke? I need to be home," he sneered, lying through his teeth. But the other boy could see right through it.

"That's not true and you know it," Luke said with a frown before sighing. "You— I thought you said Alex and I were perfect for each other," he said, softer this time.

"Yeah and clearly, I was right," Reggie huffed, pointing at the tent in the boy's jeans. "I should've known better," he said more to himself while turning around but he crashed against a chest.

"Should've known better what?" asked Alex, looking down at the other boy.

Reggie stepped back and looked at both of them. He was angry, more at himself than at them. Angry at himself for believing he could have this, for believing that his bond with them was on the same level as the one the other two have. 

But clearly, he was dead wrong. 

Maybe all that anger was what made him explode like he did. 

"I should've known I don't belong with you two," Reggie said with a self-deprecating smile. "Because, surprise! Stupid Reggie fell for his two best friends who are pretty deep in love with each other." 

Everything in his chest hurt and he didn't know when he had started crying, just that he could feel the wet trails get cold against his skin. 

"And I'm really happy for you two because believe me, the longing stares and everything was  _ exhausting _ ," he let out a bark of laughter before whipping away his tears angrily. "But yeah, I really need to be home. Congrats, guys, I hope this time it really works out and," Reggie let out a long breath, "you have my full support," he nodded to himself and took his bike, speeding away as fast as his legs let him. 

Bobby was there, seeing everything from the sidelines as he always did. He stepped closer to the other two and pushed two little boxes against their chests 

"Here, Reggie got this for you two," he said with a tired sigh. "Merry Christmas."

And with that he got in his car and left the other two there, Reggie's words ringing in their ears. 


	6. In my life, there's been heartache and pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A look into the dynamic when the heart is missing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No warnings for this one.

When people say that _this is the calm before the storm,_ they don't know that there could also be a more terrifying calm _after_ an earthquake. Where you think everything passed, that everything will be the same even if there are some damages. 

That's what was happening now between Alex, Luke, and Reggie and Bobby honestly didn't know what to do with his three oblivious best friends. 

He didn't like to take sides but he knew that Reggie was alone while Luke and Alex had each other. So, he tried to spend as much time as he could with the bassist and it was terrifying to see how that characteristic playfulness had left Reggie, in what Bobby hoped was just for the time being. 

Practice was pretty much the same though and so were the gigs, the only change was that now Reggie didn't go anywhere near Luke nor Alex. Leaving Bobby as his only link to the band on the stage and believe him, he didn't mind because he _adored_ Reggie, but it was still somewhat weird. 

Classes were another thing completely different though, Reggie kept on his own and only ate lunch with Bobby from time to time, saying that he needed to catch up on homework and that he'd be in the library if Bobby needed him. That much he made clear in front of the three of them: not Alex, not Luke— only Bobby. And if that wasn't telling about the extent of the boy's grief, he didn't know what it was. 

Today was one of those days, where only the three of them were at the lunch table. Alex and Luke with kicked puppy expressions and Bobby doing his most to try and see how he could help. 

"You two are morons," the rhythm guitarist stated. "Did you really not know he was into you?" 

"We didn't, Bobby! For fucks sake, he is overly friendly with all of us and he flirts with girls all the time!" Luke exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air in exasperation. 

"What does that mean? You like girls, too," Bobby cut in, frowning. 

But Alex just sighed, going in: "We really didn't, Bobby," said the drummer, much calmer yet he was biting his lips anxiously. "We just...we didn't do anything wrong. We love each other and we didn't know that would hurt Reggie." 

Bobby scoffed. "No, you're missing the point: he's not hurting because you guys love each other, c'mon," he explained, and then turned to Luke. "Didn't he tell you something about you and Alex being great for each other?" 

Luke didn't move from resting his chin against his folded arms on the table. "He said 'perfect'..." 

"Of course he did! Cause Reggie has no problem with you two loving each other," Bobby said, a little harsher than he intended to. But then he just looked at his friends kicked puppies' eyes and he went, lower: "He just wanted _in_. He wanted for you guys to feel that way about him, too."

At that moment, judging by the other two expressions, Bobby knew that he had brought enlightenment to their lives. 

"You really didn't notice…" Bobby said more to himself than to them. "You know what? Nevermind, now you do know and you better do something about it," he said in a stern voice. 

"But what do you want us to do?! We are together again and we don't even know if we feel something for Reggie," Alex replied. 

"I don't care, just do something," Bobby told them, looking between the both of them. "I'm tired of listening to him sing 'I wanna know what love is' with my guitar while we practice." 

"He never did that," said the brunette with a frown.

"No, not with you. It's just that we sometimes practice, just the two of us," Bobby winked at them and decided that it was time to leave. "See you later at calc!" he smiled before leaving them both with weird expressions on their faces. Maybe trying to get them to be jealous on Reggie's behalf wasn't the best idea, but hey, it worked in movies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We know it's fairly short but we didn't want to leave you hanging for another week. We'll see you next, thanks for being so sweet always. We love you💖


	7. Crooked Teeth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke turned on the couch to face Alex. "I mean, he did say he likes us both…" 
> 
> The trash can lid closed loudly and Alex turned to stare at his boyfriend. 
> 
> His boyfriend who was also his best friend since he was a kid. 
> 
> His boyfriend that he knew better than he knew himself. 
> 
> "So...you wanna poke the elephant in the room?" Alex asked, taking careful steps back to Luke's space. 

Alex knocked on the garage door twice before he swung it, finding it open. "Hey," he greeted, peeking his head in. 

Luke moved from the couch, dropping the guitar by the floor and going over to him. "Oh, hi. Thought you were staying in your room, doing homework tonight," he wondered. 

Alex showed him the plastic container with heated leftovers. "Yeah, but we had bittersweet wings and I know you love that, so," he said, offering Luke the food. 

He knew the boy had been surviving on junk food and what they got in school, which was not good at all. 

Luke almost ripped it off his hands with a thank you and went back to sit on the couch to eat. 

Alex followed him silently, shoving his hands into his pockets, eyeing the room. There were paper sheets splattered all over. Luke had definitely been riding a muse wave lately. 

He looked down at the object of his affections and found him thoroughly enjoying his meal, so much that a bit of barbecue sauce had splashed on the corner of his mouth. 

Alex chuckled and leaned his hand to rub on Luke's face, to wipe the stain off. But Luke leaned into the touch with a tender smile and a mouthful and then quickly sucked the spot on Alex's thumb, cleaning it off his finger.

Alex let out another laugh and sat on the wooden table, just watching Luke eat. 

When he was done, the shorter boy just looked at the empty plastic plate and took a deep breath before looking at Alex again. "Thank you," he said, his tone deep.

Alex nodded. "You said that," he said, amused. 

But Luke cast his eyes down to his fingers. "No, but, I mean it— I mean, this whole thing with my mom and now Reggie on top of that…" Luke made a face and Alex tried to lean closer from the table. "I don't know how I'd be hanging if you hadn't come back to me," he added. 

"I never left, Luke," Alex said. 

"No, but, you know it's different. Things are different now. And it's pretty much the only good thing I got going," Luke said, trying to reach for Alex's hands. 

Alex felt Luke's fingertips grace his slowly but he thought, almost bitterly: "If we weren't together, Reggie wouldn't be pissed at us, though." 

Luke's hands stopped searching his, and instead, he leaned back, relaxed. "You still think he's pissed at us because of that?" 

Alex took the plate off Luke's lap and handed him a few napkins to clean his greasy fingers. "Why? You think Bobby's right?" he asked, moving around in the room to throw away the empty plate. 

Luke turned on the couch to face Alex. "I mean, he _did_ say he likes us both…" 

The trash can lid closed loudly and Alex turned to stare at his boyfriend. 

His boyfriend who was also his best friend since he was a kid. 

His boyfriend that he knew better than he knew himself. 

"So...you wanna poke the elephant in the room?" Alex asked, taking careful steps back to Luke's space. 

  
  


Luke bit his lower lip like he was coming up with what words to fill in the air next but instead, he rose from his seat and declared: "I wrote something." 

The singer moved around in the room 'till he found the piece of paper he was looking for and handed it to Alex. 

"Not recently, 'cause I'm not in that mood lately anymore. It was a few months ago," Luke explained. "But I didn't show it or told you anything because— well, I thought it was pretty obvious," he added, rubbing the back of his head. 

Alex grinned at the lyrics. "Crooked teeth?" 

Luke quirked an eyebrow. "Who do you think it's for?" he asked, but only, like, rhetorically. 

Alex's face turned into a 'duh' expression "It's a little silly— but it's sweet," Alex said, trying to hand Luke back the sheet. 

"Just like Reggie," Luke retorted, holding Alex's hand on his chest, the piece of paper between them.

  
  


Alex felt Luke stare deeply into his eyes as if begging for something he doesn't quite know what it is, either.

"Luke…" Alex started to try to deflect but Luke gripped tighter.

"I know you know I like him and I know you like him, too!" Luke pushed instead, almost eager. 

Alex generally doesn't like lying, but even if he did, there really was no point in lying here, not to Luke. 

"And I know that it's unusual and, what? Weird? Isn't that what they already think we are?" Luke asked, a little exasperated. "Isn't that what they say Bowie is? Or why they didn't get Freddie and him having his _multiple partners_?" he pressed. 

Alex thought it was a little ridiculous. Even though he had already heard about it in a gay bookstore meet-up a few months after Freddie Mercury's untimely passing. 

He can't remember what it was called right now, though. 

"Oh, so, nevermind history class, but for this, you _do_ do research?" Alex joked.

Luke rolled his eyes but he was amused. "I'm serious." 

Alex let his shoulders fall in a helpless gesture. "Fine. It's true. I like him, too. We all like each other— so, what do we do now, genius?" 

Alex regretted asking that when Luke's smile drew widely on his face and he moved to grab his guitar. 

"I have an idea," Luke said. 

The last time he said that they jumped into a freezing lake and had a cold for four entire days. They had been twelve. 

Alex looked out the tiny windows of the garage door and watched the moon, barely visibly through the thick fog. 

  
"Oh, _boy_ ," Alex sighed, just a little bit afraid of what would come next.


	8. This time, this place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ronnie was about to reply when the faint sound of a guitar could be heard from the outside…of his window. 
> 
> "Who is crazy enough to be playing guitar when it's raini— oh God, please no," Reggie said before walking towards it, Ronnie on his heels. And yeah, the first thing he saw was Alex and Luke soaked to the bones...serenading him? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're so sorry for the wait. Life kept beating one of us up and he couldn't get around finishing this chapter. HOPE YOU LIKE THIS ONE!

Reggie was trying to get his little brother to sleep. He had come knocking on Reggie's door the moment the first thunder hit the sky. Reggie adored his little brother but he was a curious child…sometimes too curious. 

"So, you love them?" asked Ronnie while flipping through Reggie's song journal, causing Reggie to almost choke on air. 

" _What?"_ he asked in a high pitched and trembling tone. "Love who?" 

"Lex and Luke, duh," said the little brunette. "You write songs about them and Ray told me that when you love someone all your mind thinks about is them and I guess this means that," the little boy cleared his throat for a more dramatic effect, making Reggie snort a little, before starting to read out loud. _"Deep blue eyes full of stars, tan glowing skin just like the sunset light."_

Reggie keened, turning as red as the plaid he had on, and almost tackled him to take the journal back. "This is private, Ron. It's rude to go through people's private stuff," he chastised, putting it on the top shelf. 

"You are deflecting," Ronnie said, crossing his arms over his chest and looking like the very image of their older brother.

"You really need to stop watching these psychology shows with Ray. How do you even know what deflecting means? I mean, I didn't know until a couple of years ago," Reggie huffed, looking equal parts proud and scared. 

Ronnie was about to reply when the faint sound of a guitar could be heard from the outside…of his window. 

"Who is crazy enough to be playing guitar when it's raini— oh God, please no," Reggie said before walking towards it, Ronnie on his heels. And yeah, the first thing he saw was Alex and Luke soaked to the bones...serenading him? 

He opened the window and stared at them, not very amused. That's when he heard them, even through the rain he could recognize those voices: 

" _This time, this place, misused, mistakes. Too long, too late, who was I to make you wait?"_ Luke sang, not tearing his eyes away from the window, before looking at Alex so they could do the next part together.

_"Just one chance, just one breath. Just in case there's just one left. 'Cause you know, you know, you know."_ Both of them felt nervous because it would be the first time they would say the L word to the brunette bassist and _mean it_ in that way.

They took a deep breath and turned back to the window, walking closer to it.

_"That I love you, I have loved you all along and I miss you. Been far away for far too long. I keep dreaming you'll be with me and you'll never go. Stop breathing if I don't see you anymore."_

Both Alex and Luke couldn't completely make out Reggie's face but they could see he was about to cry. They got worried for a moment but decided to keep going, they were going to win him back, possible hypothermia be damned. 

Meanwhile inside the house Reggie had forgotten that he wasn't alone and no, he didn't mean that his brother was with him, he meant his parents. That's why he turned to Ronnie and crunched down to his height 

"Hey, buddy, I'm going outside to tell them to leave. Throw something at me if mom or dad come to my room, okay?" He kissed Ronnie's forehead before rushing out of the window with practiced ease. 

The moment he landed on the floor he didn't expect to be bombarded with this huge feeling of longing the moment he was face to face with them. 

Getting closer, he could listen to them better and the lyrics of the song. They loved him, and they wanted him back.

It was like all his dreams came true with that confession but there was still a part of him that thought 'maybe they are just doing it so we can all be friends again?'. He gulped down and shook his head, trying to get rid of that thought. 

Now he could see all the emotions they had passing through their eyes: love, sadness, longing...funny enough, it was everything he had been feeling since that horrible Christmas morning.

Encouraged by the mere presence of the boy, both Alex and Luke gave their all to convey all they were feeling on what was left of the song.

_"But you know, you know, you know I wanted, I wanted you to stay. 'Cause I needed, I need to hear you say. That I love you (I love you), I have loved you all along. And I forgive you (and I forgive you), for being away for far too long so keep breathing cause I'm not leaving you, anymore. Believe it, hold on to me and never let me go."_

The passion and love they were trying to pour into the song was what made Reggie break down. The last part was like his answer to them but he was afraid, afraid of getting his heart even more broken than it already had.

By the time they were done singing, all three of them had tears in their eyes. Luke and Alex walked closer to Reggie but said boy stopped them with his hand.

"We need you back, Reggie," said Alex while looking at him with those blue eyes that were clearer and warmer than any summer sky Reggie had seen before. 

"We do. We need our heart back," Luke said, stepping closer and taking Reggie's hand in his before kissing it softly. "Please," he mumbled in a broken voice. 

Alex got closer to them, too, taking Reggie's other hand and smiled softly at him.

"Y-you really mean it?" said the green-eyed boy, looking between the two loves of his life. "You aren't just doing this because you want us all to be friends again?" 

At that Alex chuckled and gave Reggie that fond but exasperated look that was reserved just for him… and sometimes Luke. 

"I'm standing under the pouring rain, Reginald. If this doesn't tell you _I mean it,_ I don't know what will." 

Luke smiled proudly before giving him his smug, lopsided smile.

"And this was my idea so, it's self-explanatory," he said, winking at the bassist. 

The smile Reggie gave them before throwing himself at them was one that they would never forget because they were sure it was out of this world. 

"I— fuck, I really want to kiss you both so much!" he pretty much squealed, giving them both a last squeeze and peck on each of their cheeks before pulling back and chuckling softly at their expressions. "This… never in my wildest dreams— ok, no, totally in my wildest dreams this would have happened but this is real life! Not a 'Say Anything' scene!" He said running his hand over his hair to pull it away from his eyes. 

"Well, you better believe it, baby" Luke grinned, looking at Alex before both of them turned back to Reggie. "'Cause we did it." 

"We did and we really need to talk this out," Alex was as excited as the other two but he needed to know how it all would work, what were they going to do. 

"I have the perfect place for that!" Reggie looked at Luke with a grin. "Meet me at the moon spot!" He said before running to his bike and leaving without saying anything else. 

Alex frowned and looked at the singer "Moon spot? What moon spot and why didn't I know about it?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest and looking mildly offended.

Luke chuckled and shook his head. "You'll see, come on!" he took his hand and both went to retrieve their bikes before speeding down the road, Alex following Luke blindly...like he always would do. 

* * *

Alex breathed in the foggy air and hugged himself tighter. It was dark in here, the moon was shining in its Wanning Gibbous shape. 

"So...the moon spot?" Alex said, quirking an eyebrow. 

Luke sighed but he was smiling. "Will you relax? Nothing happened. We just came here to watch the eclipse. Actually, Reggie used that private moment between us just to ask me about you," Luke explained, hands deep in his pockets. 

Alex frowned but then he softened. 

Luke grinned. "It's funny to see you of all people jealous," he mocked. 

"Yeah, ha-ha. I shouldn't be, Luke," Alex retorted. "Isn't that the whole point of this? God, I don't even know what we're thinking. This is crazy—" 

"What's crazy?" Alex heard from their side. 

Somehow, all Alex's fears flew away at the bright pink of Reggie's cheeks. 

But Reggie was fidgeting with his fingers, looking between them. "Am I interrupting something?" he asked, fear reeking through his tone. 

Luke jumped to his side. " _No,_ " he said, calmer. "You'd never interrupt anything," he assured Reggie. 

But Alex felt air catching up his throat and he knew, he knew it was his anxiety acting up. 

"Luke, we have to talk about this—"

"No, Alex, okay? What did we just agree on like an hour ago? We want this. _You_ want this," Luke said, turning from Reggie to him. "Look at me in the eyes and tell me you don't," he dared. 

Alex swallowed thickly, lost in the fire of Luke's eyes. God, he never met a more stubborn person. 

And thank the Lord. 

Because Alex gave in, and looked at Reggie instead, taking careful steps. "Fine. But I need to do something. Something that will make me remember why this is totally worth it," he began saying, closing the distance between them.

Between him and Reggie. 

Reggie parted his lips as if on queue, in something akin to awe, and Alex almost felt sad because he wanted to do that with his tongue instead. 

He imagined this a thousand times but none of them made justice to reality, to the way Reggie's neck felt under the tip of his fingers. 

To the gasp that escaped Luke's mouth when Alex pressed his mouth to Reggie's right in front of him. 

Alex sucked on Reggie's lips, tapping with his tongue at his bottom lip, and savored him in. He tasted like tears and apple juice; Reggie through and through. 

Alex let him go with a deep inhale and a smile on his face. He felt lighter. 

Reggie opened his eyes slowly. "You-you kissed me. Alex kissed me," Reggie spoke, turning his eyes to Luke standing by Alex's side. 

"I know. I saw," Luke replied, his mouth hanging wide in a smile. 

"You're not mad at me?" Reggie still asked. 

Luke chuckled. "Reggie, trust me, mad is the _last_ thing I am right now." 

Reggie actually laughed a full teeth laugh at Alex's face and Alex thought that was his new favorite song. 

"Was it as good as it looked?" Luke asked Alex once he took a tiny step back.

"Go ahead and find out," Alex lured. 

There was something ridiculously hot about pulling Reggie's hand to push him towards Luke. 

Alex thought he was now surely buying his ticket to hell. Perverted and deviant. Pushing a guy into your boyfriend's arms so they would kiss. 'You're so goddamned sick, Alexander', a better version of himself would say. 

But Alex didn't really give a shit. 

Deep down he's known he's wanted to watch Luke and Reggie kiss since the first time they dared to share one stupid mic and splashed each other's saliva at their faces while singing. 

Hell, he even held his own breath more than a couple of times. 

So, when Luke absolutely ravished Reggie's mouth with his, having to hold his back with both hands so Reggie wouldn't fall at the sheer force of Luke's demanding rapture, Alex felt his head go dizzy. 

There was something hot, sure, about all this. But there was something even sweeter at the idea that Luke was tasting the same apple juice he just did, that Reggie had just less than an hour ago. 

Something dearly loving about them sharing their happiness like this. So intrinsically, so naturally. 

Alex put a hand on both of their shoulders, not to stop them, but to ground himself from falling to tears at how full he feels. 

Luke dropped Reggie's mouth with a wet sound and Alex thought _that_ was his newest favorite song. "Feeling a little neglected? I got it…"

Luke moved his chin to suck on Alex's lips and they're all so close Alex only smells Reggie's cologne and feels Luke hammering heart on his chest. 

When they part again, Reggie's looking at them mute, his face serene. 

"What?" Alex wondered, suddenly worried. 

"I just— have this feeling…"

"Like what?" Luke tried, his hand flying to the back of Reggie's neck.

"That I belong," he added, his eyes shining. "I didn't think I would." 

Alex pulled them closer with each arm. "Well, you do, you big dork," he said, and he kissed his nose. 

Then Luke kissed his nose. 

Then they both kissed Alex's nose. 

And before they knew it, they were all kissing again and falling on the grass. Laugh and kiss and nibble and touch and laugh again. 

"And you'll never get rid of us now," Luke warned, resting his face to Reggie's collarbone. 

Reggie adjusted his head under Alex's chin and Alex threw his arm on top of him, to hold them both. 

"I wasn't planning to, either." 

Alex smiled and he looked at the stars above them. 

Yeah, they shone bright, alright. But the stars had nothing on them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for always being awesome and patient. We wanna note that: the song Alex and Luke sing to Reggie is "Far Away" by Nickelback, which came out in 2005. But for story purposes, we just did a little time jump heh

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for the tears ahead.


End file.
